JACKALS - THE HALLOWEEN HORRORS COLLECTION

By Guest Reviewer The Creepy Concierge 

There really is nothing worse than an uninvited guest.  Maybe you’ve tucked the kids in for the night, done the washing up and you’re settling in for a night of the entertainment of your choice when that knock on the door manages to upset the best laid plans and, depending on who’s at the door, you find yourself smiling politely through gritted teeth at the tale of a missing cat. Well, if you think that’s as bad as it gets check out Director Kevin Greutert’s JACKALS (2017) and think again. Cults, family disputes, a cabin in the woods and uninvited guests come together in this neat, if occasionally predictable, home invasion thriller.

Set in the 1980’s (no mobile cell phones kids) a family finds itself on the wrong end of a cult’s wrath after they recover their son from their clutches and spirit him away to let Stephen Dorff do a bit of friendly deprogramming. The usual ‘strangers in the shadows’ tomfoolery ensues and the family find themselves fighting for their lives as tends to happen in these situations. Violence erupts, blood flows and trauma is on tap for all and sundry as the hatches are battened down and the family tries to survive the night. But will they….

JACKALS is a solid little flick. Greutert’s previous credits as an editor ensure it’s relatively tightly wound and there are some impressive gore laden set pieces here and there but nothing too disturbing. Performances are solid all round with the brilliant Deborah Kara Unger unleashing her usual, and trademarked, contained ferocity even in the quietest of moments. Jonathon Scaech is good too as are most of the cast whose considerable efforts add to the ‘frog-in-a-saucepan’ slow boil tension.

The pic does look good. Rich, saturated and velvety Dean Cundey inspired cinematography has just the right combination of painterly contrast and throwback ‘80s vibe to chill the bones and there’s more than a sprinkling of Hollywood blue night if you like that sort of thing. Production design is equally impressive as are the costumes on the masked marauders who sport some frankly terrifying face wear. The score and sound design is more than up to job. Over-all it’s a handsomely mounted flick if nothing else.

Is JACKALS the best home invasion flick ever made? No. Is it worth a watch? Yes absolutely, especially if you’re a lover of Home Invasion potboilers such as The Strangers.  Oh, and it’s probably best to ignore that midnight knock at the door if you decide to give it a spin late at night…you never know who might be doing the knocking.

Watch for free by clicking here  JACKALS or click on W4FREE where you can watch all our monstrously good movies in THE HALLOWEEN HORRORS COLLECTION for free.